Death Comes to the Rectory by Catherine Lloyd

Sir Robert Kurland is somewhat astonished to hear that his aunt is pregnant. She's not exactly old but she has a grown child, Henrietta. True, Henrietta isn't very pleasant and her husband, Basil, is even worse. And, since she's married to his wife Lucy's father, it's not as though he wanted to think of them like... that. It's just unfortunate that Basil and Henrietta have decided to visit right as that announcement is made. And it's while any number of other family members are visiting for the baptism of Lucy and Robert's younger child. 

It's the odious Basil who ends up dead in the rectory study. Henrietta is quick to blame Lucy's father. Is it because she believes her accusation or because she knows that her mother has signed a will making the reverend her new beneficiary. 

There are any number of suspects as Northam was not only a blackmailer, he put together a Ponzi scheme that ruined any number of people who are in the immediate area.

As is usual in this series, there is a very convoluted ending but overall an enjoyable listen.

Three and a half stars

This book came out 

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #8

Follows Death Comes to the Nursery

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla
Opinions are my own

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C.J. Archer

Cleopatra "Cleo" Fox has been told her whole life that her mother's family was wealthy but that they had cut her and Cleo's father off from any of their wealth. But now her father's family is completely gone and she's been invited to live with her aunt and uncle, the Bainbridges, in her uncle's ancestral home which has been transformed into a hotel. She finds that the past might not be interpreted in the same way by her uncle and that the family is more welcoming than she expected. But all is not right at the hotel and a guest is murdered. Cleo, wanting to be helpful, immediately leaps in and tries to help. She doesn't wish to marry, nor does she want to live off her family's largesse so she is trying to learn skills to be able to support herself. Unfortunately, not everything she does in the course of the investigation helps everyone involved.

A little slow in places, I'm willing to give the series another shot at some point because it was a good mystery.

Three stars

This book came out December 1, 2020

Cleopatra Fox #1

Followed by Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Death Comes to the Nursery by Catherine Lloyd

Finally, Lady Lucy and Sir Robert Kurland have their longed-for child. And he's about to have a sibling. Agnes is going to need some help in the nursery. She recommends her cousin, Polly. But, when she arrives, Polly is unexpectedly attractive. And there are soon fights over who will get to go walking with her. Unfortunately, that only leaves more suspects when Polly is found dead. And solving this murder becomes only more tangled when they discover that Polly... isn't actually Polly. So who was she? And how did she get into their house?
The ending on this one was a little convoluted but most of the story was very enjoyable and there are even some breadcrumbs set up for the next book in the series. 

Three and a half stars

Kurland St. Mary Mystery #7

This book came out January 28, 2020

Follows Death Comes to Bath

Followed by Death Comes to the Rectory

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own 

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau

Told mainly from the point of view of the heroine, this book explores a fake dating situation that, of course, turns into a full blown relationship by the end of the book. 
Writer and barista Emily Hung has a mother who is full bore into matchmaking. Emily is the second of five girls and her youngest sister just got married leaving her as the only single child. Add in the fact that she's working in the arts and she just feels like her mother doesn't approve of Emily's lifestyle. Enter, Mark Chung. The son of Emily's mother's friend, he is held up as a paragon. And at her sister's wedding, Emily is forced to spend time with the man. Mark, spends most of that time on his phone. Obviously, he isn't very interested either. But, to get her mother off their backs, they decide to fake date. This gets very involved with cake decorating dates and meeting to sync their stories.
It is during these meetings that Emily starts to notice that Mark may be different than she originally assumed. Not quite as lofty and maybe, just maybe, he is interested in her too.
I wish we had gotten more time with Mark. I think we were almost three quarters of the way through the book when we switch to his perspective. Because we saw so much from Emily's side, I was left feeling that there was more to explore from him. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 7, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Murder at Tanton Towers A by Amy Myers

There's a body at the Towers. Cara Shelley was just thinking about how much she enjoyed working at the Tanton Towers having opened a cafe there and now, one of the people that she calls a friend (well, at least she didn't hate Daphne) is dead. And worse, the DCI who's investigating the case, Andrew Mitchem, is the same man who argued with her on whether she is baking her huffkins the "correct" way. There is no way to trust this man to find the murderer. He's obviously deranged. Especially when he settles on Daphne's husband, Mike, as the main suspect.

Cara goes looking on her own to figure out what is going on. Though we mainly see her point of view in the third person omniscient, we see the points of view of many of the other characters as major clues turn up. I did not figure out who the killer was and I'm not upset about that. It did take me awhile to get into this story. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have kept going except that this was an ARC. It took almost half the story for Clara to come into focus as a character and there is still a lot about her that could have been added to make her more interesting. 

British Stately Home Mystery #1

Three stars

This book comes out May 7, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Severn House and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle

Molly Griffin is a crystal tuner and the biggest job of her career is jeopardized when a man is found dead in her shop. It's not like her life isn't complicated enough. Her sister was part of the Hollister Expedition, the one that was lost in the underground Glass House sector three weeks ago. But her mothers finally found the one person who made it out alive, Joshua Knight. 

His psi vision burned out after the expedition, Joshua doesn't have any memories from that night. He's recently escaped from a psychiatric institute and is living in a house of mirrors; one so spooky the town gifted it to him at no cost. He's startled to see Molly show up on his doorstep but he can't turn her away as the local fog is getting too intense. That night starts their relationship as Molly ignores one of Joshua's rules but then saves him. 

The story is a little disjointed but I think regular Ghost Hunters readers will enjoy it.  

Three and a half stars

This book comes out May 7, 2024

Follows Sweetwater & the Witch

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Unicorn Crush by Dana Simpson

Dakota is feeling the brunt of not being popular so she turns to Phoebe for help. Of course, it doesn't last long. Though they are moving ever closer to being... friends. And we also see her with Sam, the older girl she wants to be friends with. 

It turns out Marigold is in therapy, with Tod of all people. We get a lot of discussion in "Rar" (which is nice that Marigold gets her privacy. Then, when Marigold is ready to spend more time with Phoebe, we get to read about Phoebe's comic strip. 

New character Sparkleface McGee makes an appearance. It is a being of pure energy. And we see Marigold talking in another new language. 

Infernus the Unicorn of Death also stops in. 

Five stars

This book comes out May 7, 2024

Phoebe and Her Unicorn #19

Follows Unicorn for a Day

ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own